The manufacturing industry is showing strong signs of growth, with more than half of businesses surveyed expecting higher profits.

There is a similar sentiment from the finance, insurance and real estate sector, while retail has declined with slow demand and online competition impacting projected growth.

D&B economic advisor Stephen Koukoulas says the slight pull-back in profits is the only negative in the results.

“Expected sales have risen strongly since the middle of 2013 and are almost three times the 10-year average, suggesting that economic growth is poised to rise to an above trend pace when the official data for the first half of 2014 is released.

“Encouragingly, the recent gains in expected employment have consolidated at a more favourable level, and the capital investment outlook has maintained its improvement,” he says.

The positive outlook is supported by findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showing 47,300 jobs were added to the economy in February.